


Ghost Kisses

by Charmingwolf



Category: Original Work
Genre: Alcoholism, Ghosts, Immortal, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-17
Updated: 2015-05-17
Packaged: 2018-03-30 22:47:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3954757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Charmingwolf/pseuds/Charmingwolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Levi Brown is an immortal detective that falls in love with a ghost.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ghost Kisses

This is it. After thousands of years, he had lost hope in death. He knew it would happen one day but after death after death, he just accepted that maybe an ending wasn’t meant for him. So from that revelation forward, the immortal chose to live life to the fullest. He met new people everyday. He saw people die everyday, but he didn’t let it get him down. He embraced every new invention and idea to ever be introduced. He even embraced the ideas that had been repeated. He read every book he could get his hands on and worked every job in existence at least once. His favorite had to be forensics. The immortal found himself constantly returning to police force whether it was in Victorian times or the paperwork-filled experience of modern times. 

But this, this was the end. 

The darkness surrounded him and the weight of the world fell away. Then he woke up.

A pale white ceiling rested above him. He lifted his hand to his face but there was no weight behind it. he opened his eyes and looked at his hand. It was translucent. 

The immortal sat up quickly and looked around the room. White tiles and silver tables surrounded him. He was in the morgue in the Tacoma, Washington Police department. He turned to look at his body.

His face was peaceful. The bags under his eyes seemed have lessened but his cheeks no longer had their glow of life. The former immortal tilted his head. He was a ghost now. He had hoped for more of an afterlife. 

“Well I suppose being a ghost is an afterlife,” He sighed. He reached toward his feet and looked over his toe tag. the tag went through his fingers but it moved slightly like a small breeze had moved it. “These M.E.s really work fast.” 

Levi Brown was his newest name, but his tag said John Doe. 

“They really don’t recognize me? I’ve only worked here for twenty years,” Levi rolled his eyes and started to lay down when another ghost shot up from the table next to him.

“WHERE AM I?” A man on the table next to Levi yelled, his eyes wide with fear as he started to scream. He looked at his hands and body and went into a full blown panic. 

Levi sighed and got off his table. He hesitated to touch the man’s shoulder; he didn’t know if his hand would go right through the man but when he put his hand down it touched something solid. The man was warm like a living person. It was a comfort Levi didn’t know he needed.

The man struggled to breathe the air he no longer needed and as he turned to look at the immortal his eyes started to water. 

“What happened to me?” the man asked.

“You died,” Levi told him, removing his hand and going to look at the man’s toe tag. The tag said John Doe just like his own, “What’s your name?”

“Mark. Mark Jackson,” the man swallowed and tried to slow down his nonexistent heart. “Are you… Are you dead too?”

Levi nodded. “I had a heart attack in the middle of a park. I was on a late night walk and just pop! Game over.”

Mark’s panic seemed to die down with that statement. “So what do we do now?”

“We wait, I suppose,” Levi lifted himself onto his table. His feet didn’t touch the ground, so he swung his legs back and forth. 

“So tell me about yourself, Mark.”Levi hit the ‘k’ sound hard and smiled hoping to break the tension.

Mark swung his legs off the table as well so he could face Levi. He wiped his cheeks and took a deep breath. Levi knew that face. That was the face of a man who wasn't expecting to leave

After a moment, Mark audibly sighed, “I had two years to live. Two years without any treatment. I would have totally tried chemo if I thought it would work. So I was going without.”

“You were living life to the fullest,” Levi nodded, “But what happened to make your fate come early?”

The mortal sighed and shifted to the right so he wasn’t blocking his arm, “I guess I overdosed.” He pointed to an array of small puncture wounds on his arm, “Someone called the police not long after I was dead.”

Levi got off the table and inspected the wounds, “Heroin?”

Mark nodded, “What’s your story?”

“I was a homicide detective for the Tacoma Police Department. I was immortal until now. I have lived for 3,000 years.”

“Three THOUSAND years?” 

Levi nodded.

“What did you do for all that time?” Mark asked leaning forward where he sat.

“Well at first it was really rough, seeing people die all around me and watching civilization change. But as time goes on, I get used to it. I learned to appreciate people for people and not just things that are destined to die,” Levi sighed, “I remember all of my life, too. From the lost loves to the horrible roommates. From the crazy murders to that one time I lost a leg. MY WHOLE LEG! Just blown right-”

Levi stopped talking when Mark looked at him with a horrified expression. 

“Sorry. I’m not used to telling people my secret,” Levi chuckled to himself.

“Of course, you aren't,” Mark looked down at his feet.

Levi’s smile fell away and his hands started to fidget. The immortal really didn’t know what to do. He was so used to waking up in his bed after dying or seeing dead people as just that--dead people. Now he was one, and he didn’t know what to do. So the two ghosts rested in silence. Levi sat back on his table and waited for the M.E.s to come and start the autopsy. 

The clock ticked on. A monotone repetitive click that seemed to drag. Levi watched the clock, which didn't really help it move any faster. So he started watching Mark. The mortal was paced around the morgue. 

Mark tried picking things up, but his hand went straight through. He huffed and talked to himself like Levi wasn’t there. 

“This fucking sucks. I can’t do anything,” He banged on a work table but ended up falling on his face from the momentum of his hands hitting nothing. Papers on the table rustled lightly, and some of the tools shifted slightly.

Levi tried to hold in his laughter by covering his mouth, but his snorting echoed through the empty space. Mark lifted himself off the ground and glared at Levi. 

The immortal choked trying to stop laughing. He took deep breaths as Mark went back to his table and grumbled to himself.

“I’m sorry, Mark. That was just so funny. Not being able to touch things is going to be the hardest thing to get used to.” Levi got off his table and sat next to Mark, patting him on the shoulder.

Mark bit the inside of his lip and folded his arms over his chest, “This is going to be horrible.”

“I don’t know. Maybe you just need to learn how to move things. I’ve heard of ghosts that can talk to the living after a couple hundred years. I think some have learned to close doors!” Levi tried to stay optimistic, “After all we have all eternity to practice!”

Mark rolled his eyes, “Says the former immortal.”

“Thats me!” Levi smiled widely, snapped his fingers and pointed to himself with his thumbs.

The gesture earned a laugh from Mark, “You are so stupid.”

“And you are stuck with me! We are friends now. I never leave my friends in the dust,” Levi winked at Mark.

The ice between the two audibly cracked. 

Mark started talking about his family and his life before he was diagnosed. How he went from a wannabe lawyer to a social worker and then to a sick and useless person. 

“I wouldn’t say you were useless. You were just sick,” Levi said.

“Tell that to my parents. They refused to help me with my bills. They said it was all in my head and all I needed to do was pray.”

“Yuck,” Levi spat out, “I hate stupid people. It's like they want to die.”

The mortal shrugged, “It’s what they believed.”

Mark then asked Levi an array of questions, including “How did you become immortal?”

Levi politely declined to answer the question.

“You don’t know me well enough to know that,” Levi said.

Mark rolled his eyes, “But we have all eternity with each other.”

“Don't use that line on me.” Levi shook his head.

“Right.” He went to pat Levi on the back.

At first his hand hit the solidness of Levi’s transparent body, but then it sank in. Mark’s hand hovered in the center of Levi’s chest.

The two looked at each other, mouths agape.

“I don’t think this is good,” Levi said swallowing a growing lump in his throat. 

Mark opened and closed his mouth but no sound came out. 

The immortal looked over to his body, “Oh no.”

“What?” Mark finally said.

Levi hopped off the table and went to his body. His feet had disappeared, the toe tag rested where his foot once was. 

“My body disappears before I come back to life,” Levi said starting to panic.

“Where does it go?” Mark came to Levi’s side.

“After three thousand years, all I know is that I wake up where I last fell asleep.”

“Then this means you're coming back to life, right?” Mark asked.

Levi let out a held breath “I thought this was the end. I’ve lived for so long. The idea of it finally being over?” He laughed to himself, “I thought maybe I would have a new adventure! See people who have been long gone.”

Mark sighed while he said, “Maybe. You still have stuff to see with the living.”

The immortal’s body was vanishing at a higher rate now. Everything up to his shoulders was gone. His ghost was starting to disappear along with it. 

“What are you going to do?” Levi asked.

“What do you mean?” Mark tilted his head.

“You’re gonna be alone,” Levi turned to Mark.

“Don’t worry about me. I’ve been alone before. Didn’t you say that other ghosts are around? Maybe I’ll talk to them,” Mark smiled.

“Oh, right,” the immortal sighed. He popped his neck and looked back at Mark, “Well this is goodbye! I hope death treats you well.”

“I hope life gives you what you need,” Mark said.

Then Levi was gone. 

~~~~~

Mark turned to the toe tag that rested on the table. He focused on it and tried to pick it up.

“Alright, Doctor Young we have two-,” The assistant M.E. dropped his clipboard.

The doctor pushed past his assistant. “What’s wrong, Dockens?”

“I-I. Ma’am, I’m sorry. I swear I was here all night no one came in or out, I-”

The doctor was already at the empty table. She walked right through Mark causing the doctor to shiver.

“You lost a body?” Dr. Young scowled.

“Ma’am, I didn't-” Dockens was on his knees picking up the papers he had dropped

“You are in a lot of trouble Mr. Dockens! Did you at least get pictures of it so we can hunt it down?” Young crushed the tag in her fist. 

“I was going to, ma’am, but my camera wasn’t working, and I couldn't get a hold of anybody else's, ma’am,” Dockens was shaking and avoided the Doctor’s gaze. He knew for sure he was going to lose his job.

Mark patted Dockens on the shoulder, “It’s not your fault, dude, trust me.” 

The assistant shivered and looked around. “That’s weird.”

“What’s weird? That fact that you’ve only worked here for three months and you’ve somehow already lost a body?” Young hissed at her assistant.

“No. Doesn't it feel a bit colder in here than normal?” Dockens asked still looking behind himself.

Young let out a frustrated sigh, “Sam Dockens, you used to work in a morgue. Of course, it’s going to be cold.”

Mark breathed in through his teeth, “Harsh. Sorry, buddy. I think I’m going to take my leave.” 

~~~~~~

“Oh you’re back,” Paul said through a mouthful of cereal, “Took you long enough.”

Levi knitted his eyebrows together and scrunched up his nose. “Jerk, Why are you still here? You should be a work.”

“Nah, I called in sick to mourn your death.” Paul picked up his bowl from the table and moved to the couch. He sat on Levi’s legs until the immortal moved them, “So what happened?”

“I was actually dead this time, Paul,” Levi grumbled sitting up and scratching his chin.

“Oh? How do you know?” Paul lifted an eyebrow.

“I was a ghost. In the morgue.” 

Paul snorted.

“What? I experienced an afterlife. It wasn’t that bad actually. I met someone in the morgue.” Levi hit Paul upside the head making the young man almost choke on his spoon. 

Paul glared at Levi and struck out his tongue.

“His name was Mark Jackson. He died of a heroin overdose,” Levi stood up with a blanket wrapped around his waist. 

“Was he cool?” Paul asked starting to drink the milk in his bowl.

“Yeah. We became friends.”

“Oh you ‘became’ friends. Did you use your signature ‘talk to them about their life, use your awesome knowledge to help them with a problem and just announce friendship’ technique?” Paul got up to put his bowl in the sink. 

“Shut up. It has yet to fail for two thousand years,” Levi rolled his eyes, “Did you call me in sick, too?”

“Of course, Do you want your coffee special or normal?” Paul called from the kitchen.

“Normal.”

“Special it is,” Paul said to himself.

Levi closed his bedroom door and started getting dressed. He looked through his carefully folded shirts until he found an orange t-shirt with a robot on it. This shirt was his absolute favorite because of how soft it was and also for the reaction from Paul. Paul hated the color orange because he believed it was connected to the illuminati or something ridiculous. 

“Do we still have pizza from last night?” Levi asked looking through the fridge.

“Nope,” Paul said pouring Levi his coffee.

“Why not?” Levi took the cup. He took a sip and sighed “Perfect.”

“Twenty five years of practice. Also I threw the pizza out because I'm pretty sure it caused your death.” Paul poured himself a mug then grabbed some vodka he had on the counter and poured it into the coffee. 

“It is literally,” Levi looked at the clock on the wall, “six thirty five in the morning. Why are you drinking like a college kid? What would your parents think?”

“My dad would do the same exact thing, and you know it. Also I feel like you are gonna start rambling about your new ghost-seeing powers or whatever.” Paul took a sip and mimicked his roommate “Perfect”

Levi rolled his eyes. “I died from a heart attack. No big deal.”

“Yeah, because you’ve been eating crap.” Paul gave Levi a slightly upset look.

“No more than you have,” Levi sighed and drank more of his coffee. “Besides, I can afford to eat whatever I want. I should be telling you what to eat.”

“But you actually died this time. Shouldn’t you be worried?”

Levi waved his question off, “I came back. That’s all that matters.”

“Whatever. Be your mysterious immortal self,” Paul said as he waved his hand around and walked into the living room. 

The two watched tv the whole day. Paul fell asleep halfway through Highlander which they started watching at around noon. Levi covered Paul with a blanket and continued to watch. 

That day ended with Chinese take out and a turned up thermostat. The immortal filled a sock with rice and warmed it in his microwave, Sharon. Then Levi went to bed wearing a hoodie and a scarf.

~~~~~

Wednesday was the day both of them went back to work. Levi was given a stack of paperwork and was assigned a few new cases. He got a call from the morgue telling him to come check out a body. 

Levi was disappointed to hear that Mark Jackson’s body was already claimed by his family. The immortal asked his normal questions and back at his desk he made a list of suspects. 

It was a boring day at work until his partner, Detective Parker Goodman, said she found a lead and they were going to make a house call. 

The house call ended with Levi bleeding out in a hidden backroom. His partner yelling for him and the suspect shooting himself.

Levi tried to stand up to get help but ended up against the door. He closed his eyes as he felt himself start to fade away. He opened his eyes to a pair of blue ones staring back at him.

“Hey, Levi.”

“Ah!” Levi screamed, scrambling to his feet, “What are you-” Levi looked down at his body, “Oh I see. This is going to happen every time I die now.” 

“I guess. I don't know the rules of immortality.” Mark sat down in front of Levi’s body and poked at its foot with his own.

Levi took a moment to relax. “How did you find me?”

Mark shrugged. “I kinda just wandered around for a day until I found you. Also, there was this wave of energy that kept emanating from you, so I followed that, too.”

The immortal nodded. “Thats weird”

“I don’t know. I just felt like I should find you. You seemed to really care for me, and you said, ‘I never leave my friends.’ So I thought I’d help you out.”

“Wait. Were you the reason my apartment was freezing last night?”

“Yeah… I guess that's just a ghost thing,” Mark chuckled.

“So what do you think of my roommate? He’s a little shit, isn’t he?” Levi sat down and smiled at the ghost.

“Yeah, totally! Is he an alcoholic or something? His room was covered in beer cans.” Mark tilted his head with the question.

“No, I don’t think so. He actually doesn't drink that often. He just doesn't clean his room at all.”

“Oh yeah. You say that as he probably snuck hard liquor into work.”

Levi laughed with his whole body. That was something not many people could make him do. A lot of people could make him laugh, but a whole-hearted laugh was normally reserved for comedians and Paul when he was drunk.

“He has seen some crazy shit in the morgue. I’m really surprised he doesn't actually do it,” Levi said coming down from his laughter. “He’d be fired on the spot if his boss caught him drinking.”

“Oh yeah. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Young. She fired Dockens because of your disappearing act.”

“Aw, really?” Levi leaned forward with big eyes, “He was really sweet. He only just started three months ago.”

Mark shrugged. “He lost a body. I really don't blame Young, but she was really harsh about it.”

“I imagine. She runs a tight ship in that morgue. Tighter than any other I’ve seen.”

Mark said, “So I have a question.”

Levi lifted his eyebrows “What is it?”

“Where were you born?”

“Babylon back in the days of the Persian Empire. It was so long ago,” Levi sighed resting his head on his fist, “I dont even remember my exact birth year. I know most immortals remember their birthday, but it isn't really something I worry I about.”

Mark hummed in understanding, “So you don’t know exactly how old you are?”

“Nope! I know I look about 30 by today’s standards and that I'm about 3,000, but I don’t know how old I am exactly.” Levi let a huge smile grace his face.

“How do you celebrate birthdays?”

“Every once in a while Paul will make a cake and write happy birthday on it then tell me to eat it,” Levi said completely serious.

“Oh.”

“Yeah. He cares too much for me.”

“Can I hold your hand?” Mark asked suddenly.

“Why?” Levi knitted his eyebrows together and tilted his head.

“Cause… I don’t know. I haven't held anyone’s hand in years, and I guess I just want to know what it feels like.” Mark scratched the back of his neck.

“You decide to fulfill this wish when you are a ghost?” Levi gave a questioning look.

“Well, it’s kinda too late to really hold a mortal’s hand,” Mark widened his eyes and shrugged.

Levi thought about it, and Mark had point. He held out his hand for Mark to take and smiled, “Okay. Let’s hold hands until I disappear.”

Mark took Levi’s hand and they sat there, waiting. 

Levi took note at how warm Mark’s hand felt even though he knew the space around them must be freezing because of their ghostly presence. Mark’s fingers twitched like he was still fighting off his addiction, and his nails were fragile because they bent slightly as they dug into the back of Levi’s hand. 

It really was nice to just hold someone’s hand. It was kind of relaxing. Levi loved when moments were relaxing. He loved it because it normally meant the people around him were happy. 

Mark’s nails started to close in further until his hand became a fist inside of Levi’s. They both sighed in disappointment as the warmth was replaced with cold nothing. 

“I guess I have to leave now,” Levi smiled, “You know where I live right? I guess I’ll be feeling your presence.”

“Yeah I would never leave a friend.” Mark smiled back, “Wait one more thing.”

“Hm?” Levi hummed.

Mark scooted closer and kissed the tip of Levi’s nose. “Thanks.”

Levi went cross-eyed trying to look at his nose, “No problem,” He smiled again and then his body and ghost faded away.

Levi woke up in his bed. He smiled to himself and rubbed his nose. Then he got out of bed, got dressed and got to the station as quickly as possible. 

“I’m sorry for abandoning you, Parker,” Levi explained, “something came up. My landlord called, and I needed to leave. So I called a cab and went home.”

That excuse was accepted but not really believed. Levi sighed as he was assigned paperwork for the rest of the day. 

He went home with Paul, who turned up the thermostat even more, and just went to bed for the night.

~~~~~

When he woke up, he was faced with his roommate staring at him the whole of breakfast. Levi didn't really know why until the young man announced.

“You have a thing on your nose.”

Levi touched his nose. It felt normal. “What are you talking about?”

“On the tip of your nose. You have a dot.” Paul pointed right at it and even leaned across the table to touch it, causing Levi to go cross-eyed.

“You just wanted to boop my nose.” The immortal glared at the mortal.

“No seriously. Go look in the mirror. I think it’s a freckle, but you’ve never had freckles before.” Paul insisted.

Levi huffed and forced himself out of his chair to go to the bathroom. Once there, he found that Paul was right. He had a freckle right on the tip of his nose. 

“Oh, wow. That’s… new,” he said to himself.

When Levi walked back to the kitchen he asked Paul to call his psychic friend.

“I don’t know, man. Dockens is still pretty shaken up about being fired. I dont know if he’ll like being asked questions.” 

“Just ask him, please?” 

Paul sighed and finished his breakfast before picking up his phone.

“Hey bro,” Paul said when the line picked up, “Yeah I know you feel like shit. Yeah Dr. Young is really mean, but look I have a question. Okay, What do freckles mean?”

There was a long silence on Paul’s end as the mortal listened intently. Levi continued with his eating and social media routine.

“Yeah, okay. Thanks. I think that’s all I need. Look, hang in there, buddy. I’m sure you can find another job. Maybe try teaching? Okay goodbye, Sam.” Paul hung up the phone.

“What’s the verdict?” Levi asked.

“He says freckles that magically appear are often the result of angels kissing the person in question. However, there are theories that the same thing can happen when a ghost kisses someone.You haven’t been kissing any ghosts have you?” Paul gave Levi a quizzical look.

Levi chuckled, “I have. Actually, he kissed me. Do you remember that Mark Jackson I told you about?”

 

“Yeah. The cool dude that you met in the morgue.”

“Well, I guess he’s watching out for me now because when I died yesterday he was there.”

“That’s why the house is so cold!” Paul exclaimed hitting the table as he stood up to lower the thermostat, “I can deal with a ghost if he’s your new boyfriend. I just need some new winter clothes.”

Levi shook his head with a smile on his face.

“I guess that's the price we pay for ghost kisses.”

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this for my english class.


End file.
